A Marvel of Engineering Meets the Needs of a Thirsty New York

Video

It is the gold standard of urban water supplies. The New York City watershed was assembled during the 20th century, and the system’s underground aqueducts are considered an engineering marvel.Published OnOct. 16, 2014

By Greg Moyer

Oct. 16, 2014

It is considered the gold standard of urban water systems. It covers parts of eight New York counties and a sliver of Connecticut. It includes 19 reservoirs and three controlled lakes, which can be used to feed the water supply. It has the capacity to hold approximately 580 billion gallons of water. And 9.4 million people depend on it when they turn on their taps.

It is the New York City watershed, where rainwater and snowmelt make a three-month journey through gravity-powered aqueducts stretching more than 100 miles from the Catskills to the edges of New York City.

The modern-day system was constructed in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s, as low-lying upstate farms and small towns were flooded to create reservoirs. From there, the water is channeled into underground aqueducts that are considered engineering marvels. The water is then held in smaller reservoirs and finally distributed through huge pipes that feed the five boroughs.

Hillview Reservoir, covering 90 acres and one of the last stops for the water before it reaches the city, holds just shy of one billion gallons. That is about as much water as New York City uses in a day.

Each episode of “Living City” explores little-known facts about the major systems and technologies that make life in New York possible.